Cuban infielder Alexander Guerrero expected to sign with Dodgers

The Dodgers are expected to announce the signing of Alexander Guerrero following multiple reports Monday that the Cuban infielder has been cleared by the United States government to sign with an MLB team.

ESPN Deportes initially reported that Guerrero’s contract was for seven years and $32 million while MLB.com reported that the deal could be between five and seven years. The Dodgers have yet to confirm the signing and it’s not clear where Guerrero will make his debut.

Guerrero, 26, is listed at 5-foot-11 and 205 pounds. He can play both middle infield positions, but most talent evaluators believe his best major-league position is second base. Playing in Serie Nacional, Cuba’s top league, Guerrero was named to the 2010-2011 All-Star team. He also represented Cuba in international tournaments in 2011 and 2012.

Guerrero was among the top targets of Dodgers international scouting director Bob Engel, and reportedly agreed to terms with the Dodgers in July. Like other Cuban defectors, however, Guerrero had to wait for formal approval to sign from the Office of Foreign Assets Control (which falls under the jurisdiction of the Treasury Department). OFAC approval has come in as little as 10 days, in the case of Yasiel Puig last year, or as much as a year or more. According to MLB.com, Guerrero was cleared to sign Friday.

MLB.com reports that Guerrero established residency in Haiti and had been training in the Dominican Republic, where he participated in a series of showcases at the Dodgers’ complex.

Crawford prefers No. 2

Apparently Carl Crawford doesn’t get his way very often. The left fielder prefers to hit second as opposed to his typical leadoff position in the lineup, according to Mattingly, but was placed in the No. 2 spot for just the third time this season Monday night.

Puig, who replaced Crawford in the leadoff position Monday, is no stranger to batting first but seems much better suited to the No. 2 spot with his combination of power and speed.

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Angels manager Mike Scioscia encountered a similar situation with Mike Trout this season and has opted to bat his left fielder second 89 times this season. Trout led off just 18 games this year after putting together the best ever season for a leadoff hitter as a rookie in 2012.

“I just want to see Yasiel,” Mattingly said. “Yasiel’s been really good in the leadoff spot. Carl I know prefers the two and we’ve just been a little stagnant so it’s just a little bit of a flip. And it also gives me three speed guys at the top.”

Overuse certainly hasn’t been a problem for Stephen Fife the last two months. The Dodgers starter, who was impressive for eight starts before the first of two stints on the disabled list with right shoulder bursitis, has learned his lesson.

“It’s an overuse injury. I probably did too much in spring from an effort standpoint,” Fife said. “Guys who have been through 10 springs and have a guaranteed spot, they go through spring progressively. I was going at a 10 when I should have been a two.”

Fife not only earned his spot on a big league roster for the second year, but posted a 2.21 earned-run average in six June starts.

The question is whether he is still the same pitcher following a recovery that has included six appearances for Triple-A Albuquerque.

The day he went on the disabled list for the second time, Fife pitched 5 1/3 scoreless innings against the Chicago Cubs on Aug. 4. If five Triple-A starts since, he has a 6.41 ERA.

Barring injuries to any of the Dodgers top four pitchers, Fife won’t be in the playoff rotation, but could be a candidate for some starts over the season’s last 19 games, especially considering the groin injury that forced Chris Capuano to leave Friday’s game.

Fife relieved Capuano in his first appearance with the Dodgers in more than a month, and was the losing pitcher in Cincinnati, allowing two runs on four hits in a 3-2 loss.